In the fourth quarter, Phil Jackson resorted to an extreme double-teaming strategy.
Every time Li Fei caught the ball in the low post, at least two Lakers swarmed him.
It wasn't help defense. It was a double-team.
They didn't give him a step of space. They smothered him. No turning, no shooting, no passing.
But the other Knicks stepped up in that quarter. Sprewell cut from the weak side, caught Li Fei's pass, and finished a layup. Houston caught Li Fei's pass in the corner and knocked down a three. Sabonis received Li Fei's pass at the high post and hit a midrange jumper.
Jackson caught Li Fei's pass at the top of the arc and buried a three. Every double-team on Li Fei turned into an assist.
Every pass he made turned into points.
With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the lead had grown to eighteen. The Lakers pulled all their starters and conceded defeat.
Kobe sat on the bench with a towel over his knees, watching the court without expression. O'Neal sat beside him, head lowered, saying nothing.
Phil Jackson stood on the sideline with his arms folded, his expression returning to that inscrutable Zen calm. But there was something in his eyes—not anger, but the composure of someone thinking, We lost today, but this series isn't over.
The final buzzer sounded, freezing the score at 112–98. The Knicks had beaten the Lakers by fourteen at home to take Game 5.
The stat board showed that Li Fei had played forty-four minutes, shooting 29-for-38 from the field, 6-for-8 from three, and 13-for-14 from the line. He had poured in seventy-seven points, along with ten assists, eight rebounds, and four blocks. His seventy-seven points broke the NBA Finals single-game scoring record of fifty-five, set by Michael Jordan